Haunting
by alicexcx
Summary: Three years after Isabelle (MC) left Hollywood U to focus full time on her acting career, she is engaged to Chris Winters and about to star on a new drama movie. Everything in her life seems to be perfect, until she finds out that the director of her new movie is a familiar face from her past.
1. A Ghost From The Past

**Author's note:** This is my first time writing anything for the Hollywood U fandom, so I hope I did the characters justice and they're not ooc. The POV will alternate between MC and Hunt, but it will be mostly MC. I hope you like the story and don't forget to comment/leave a review!

In this story, MC is 24 and Hunt is 34. Unlike the game, in this story they actually went on a real date (the island one) before the dinner party. More about that will be answered on the next chapters so don't worry. Any other questions, just comment!

 **PS:** English is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes I'm sorry.

* * *

"Look, I think I already know the answer to this, but… Do you want to be with me? Or would you rather be with Marianne?"

Hunt didn't face Isabelle. She wondered if he couldn't or if he just didn't want to. Maybe he didn't want to deal with her bursting into tears in front of him. Not that she would give him the taste of that.

Isabelle gulped and pushed the tears back. "That's what I thought. I guess this has all just been a waste of my time. See you in class, _Professor…_ "

She turned to leave, heart aching with the thought of never talking to Hunt that way again, when he touched her waist. For a second, she had _hope_. Hope that he would say he would rather be with her, that it had always been her, but instead he just sighed and quickly took his hand off her body.

"Maybe I gave you the wrong impression, but if we're going to see each other for years to come, I need you to fully understand that I have _no_ feelings for you." His tone was harsher than she had ever heard. "I got carried away in the foolish idea that maybe this could work, but it can't. You're not the one for me, Isabelle."

Her name in his mouth a week before – anticipating a kiss in their first official date – had been a sweet taste, but in that moment all it left her feeling was bitterness. What was even worse was that he looked impatient, _annoyed_ even, by having to tell her that. As if he hadn't ever acted like he _did_ have feelings for her.

"I wish I could be." Isabelle said; she could barely look at him. "I'm sorry that I'm not."

Then, without so much as a glance towards her, Hunt left his room. She felt the tears streaming down her face as he returned to his guests, to Marianne, to his life without Isabelle.

 _I'm sorry too._

* * *

 ** _Three Years Later_**

Isabelle woke up feeling especially excited that day. It was her first official table reading for _"Alexis"_ , this new drama movie that was supposed to finally get her the Oscar she had not won the previous year. She spent an extra hour on her makeup and outfit to make sure that her day was perfect; nothing too exaggerate, but enough to get a few looks. The press would have a full day if she didn't look the part of the famous movie star she had become.

Trashy magazines were scattered all over her bed; her guilty pleasure to read sometimes, especially when she was featured in a few articles. It was fun, even if sometimes hurtful, to read gossip about herself.

One magazine speculated if her new movie would be a success. Another accused her of getting plastic surgery on her nose. A third one talked about Addison's new collection and showed a picture of Isabelle and another actress wearing her designs. The last one had a picture of Chris Winters and the cast of his new movie with a big title: _Romance on set. Is Chris Winters bored with his movie star girlfriend or is he loyal 'till the end?_

Isabelle rolled her eyes at her own habit and picked all of them up. She was about to throw them in the trash when she caught a familiar name on another headline.

 ** _Thomas Hunt set to make his great comeback in new secret project._**

"I feel for the poor soul that has to work with Hunt." She looked at the picture following the article. He was smiling and it felt weird seeing that; she hadn't actually _seen_ him ever since she left Hollywood U, and he didn't smile much back then anyways.

She ignored the article and threw all of the magazines away.

Before leaving the house, Isabelle admired the 18–carat diamond ring shining on her finger. It was still weird getting used to wearing that enormous piece of jewelry and even weirder getting used to the idea that she was _engaged_ – and to none less than the Chris Winters, one of the biggest stars of the 21st century. The memories of his proposal on top of the Eiffel Tower were still fresh on her memory and she smiled at the thought of them.

However, as much as she loved the ring, they had decided that they would wait a few weeks to announce the engagement, so she had to take it off. Chris had a press tour for a new movie and an engagement announcement would definitely overshadow it, which none of them wanted.

Leaving the ring on the nightstand of the penthouse she shared with Chris, Isabelle took her bag – checking to see if the script was actually there; she had made that mistake once and didn't want to repeat it – and left the apartment.

It didn't take her long to get to the production company's office. Ethan said he would be waiting for her in the conference room with the actors, producers and the other people involved with the movie. Isabelle stood outside the room to check her phone and noticed that she was a couple of minutes late, but she was sure no one would mind. She got a text from Chris just as she was about to put her phone away and decided to reply to it before getting inside. Once she was there, she didn't want any distractions.

 ** _Chris:_** _Okay, remind me to take you to London at some point, because this is amazing and we didn't have time to really see it the last time. Anyways, press day is going fine and I miss you. But enough about me, I'm texting to wish you luck on your first table reading for the movie that's definitely getting you an Oscar! So, good luck and I love you. Go get them!_

 ** _Isabelle:_** _London seems like a nice honeymoon spot, doesn't it?. Haha okay, gotta get into the meeting. Thank you and have fun at your press day! Love you too._

As Isabelle put her phone back in her purse, after setting it to vibrate only, she opened the door to the conference room. It was a huge room, definitely fit for a multi–million dollar production. She felt special just by being in that place.

"So sorry for being late, I thought I had time to get a Cappuccino before getting here but apparently not." She smiled and sat beside Ethan, not paying much attention to the rest of the people. "So, what did I miss?"

Ethan opened his mouth to answer when another voice took over. "I see your tardiness hasn't changed."

 _That voice._

That _goddamn_ voice. She could recognize it anywhere, even without hearing it in years, but it couldn't be. Isabelle had to be hallucinating or dreaming. What was on that coffee?

"But I'm glad you decided to join us. We couldn't start our table reading without the star, who apparently has no concern for everyone else who was on time."

Okay, that was not a dream. Isabelle looked over to the way of the voice and froze when she saw his face. _Thomas Hunt._

He hadn't aged a day. Okay, maybe he had, but Hunt always looked a little younger than he actually was, so that was probably it. His sense of style hadn't changed; he still wore the same type of expensive suit he did when he was her teacher. Apparently, his eternal bad mood and dislike for her were still there as well.

Isabelle had imagined the moment they would see each other again before, but all the scenarios included her being getting a big award and him having to present it or him coming to her for advice, or _anything_ that wasn't that. In all the scenarios, she had the _power_ ; she was on the spotlight. However, in that moment, all she had was half of a Cappuccino she shouldn't have stopped to get and an audience of twenty other people.

Ethan seemed to notice Isabelle's tension and stepped in. "Negotiations were finished yesterday. This is our new director."

Isabelle felt like throwing up. Not only was Hunt there, but he was also given all the power to boss her around again? She couldn't believe that out of all the thousands of directors in Hollywood, they had to choose him.

" _Oh_." Isabelle said, still finding the words and hoping they wouldn't be stuck. "That's... Good." She pulled Ethan closer to her. "I'm sorry, but I need a second with my agent."

Isabelle practically dragged Ethan out of the room, with him doing everything he could to make the situation less awkward and embarrassing. She let go of him once they were alone in the corridor.

"That's a thousand dollar Armani suit, don't do that!." Ethan brushed off his suit and looked at her with soft eyes. "Okay, say it."

"What the hell?!" Isabelle wanted to scream, but she kept her voice down. "Why didn't you tell me that _Hunt_ was going to direct the movie?"

While she was mad about Hunt being the new director, she couldn't exactly blame Ethan for not telling her. As he saw it, Hunt was nothing more than a nightmare of an ex teacher to her. No one would ever imagine that someone like him would ever want to date someone like Isabelle. And, in the end, he really didn't.

"Like I said, negotiations were only finished yesterday. I didn't even think he was going to take it, Hunt is normally too pretentious to take on anything that he didn't write himself." Ethan looked down. "And, honestly, I thought you would freak out and back out on the movie."

"I... I wouldn't..." Isabelle started but seeing Ethan's glare she stopped. Maybe he was a little bit right. "Okay, maybe I would freak out a little. But it takes more than Pro–Thomas Hunt to stop me from doing something I really want to."

She had no idea where all of that confidence came from. While she was surely a confident person, when it came to Hunt she often felt powerless. He would always have some kind of weird power – or maybe influence – over her and she absolutely hated that.

" _Good._ Because it would cost us a lot of money if you did want to back out." There he was again, talking numbers like the good agent he was. Ethan looked at Isabelle a little impatiently. "Can we go back to the meeting now?"

"Yeah." Isabelle agreed, not fully sure that she was ready to go back in there. Facing Hunt for a minute was one thing, enduring him for months would be another.

Ethan entered first, and Isabelle followed behind. She made her best strong face and sat on the chair marked for her, looking Hunt right in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for my delay, I guarantee you I have the upmost respect for everyone involved in this movie and I would never make anyone wait on purpose." She said, sharply. A silent dare: _you're gonna have to do better than that to take me, Tommy Boy._

Isabelle thought she saw a ghost of a smile pass Hunt's lips. "Don't let it happen again."

"I won't." She smiled delicately, as if she was daring him. Hunt was in for a ride if he thought she was just going to go down without a fight.

Isabelle couldn't tell if anyone else felt the tension on the room, but she definitely did. Hunt and she hadn't broke eye contact since she came back to the room, and it didn't feel like they would any time soon. She knew she wouldn't.

"Alright everyone, so let's start the table reading for _Alexis_." Emily Goldwin, the producer of the movie, called out.

Hunt looked at Isabelle for another second before turning his gaze away. She smiled victorious, knowing that it had surely been annoying for Hunt to have to let go. He always liked to be in control of every situation, as did she – she wasn't gonna hide that – and seeing him lose even such a stupid stare competition was rather pleasant.

Isabelle's co–star, a 28-year-old upcoming actor who had gotten himself an Emmy nomination the year before, started reading their first scene together. The scene took place at this exquisite Los Angeles party that Alexis, Isabelle's character, had crashed with hopes of meeting someone who would help her sinking career.

"It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm–"

"Alex Irons. I know exactly who you are." Isabelle interrupted him and a smiled passed through her lips.

"And may I know your name?" He inquired.

She hesitated. "I like a little mystery. If I just tell you, then what's the fun?"

As Isabelle said the lines, she couldn't shake the familiar feeling they gave her. She hadn't dared to think about those memories for a long time.

She looked at Hunt, not knowing exactly what she expected. Maybe a look, a little hint that he remembered it too. _Nothing._ His serious expression didn't change a bit. She took a deep breath and focused on the reading again.

"Tell you what: you let me up on that stage to sing a song and I tell you my name." A devious grin passed her face. "Do we have a deal?"

The table reading went on and on, and Isabelle was not even a little bit focused on that. A day before, being on that movie was all that she could think about but right in that second, it was the farther thing from her mind.

 _Stop._

* * *

"...And the end!" Isabelle's co–star, Jake, said overly enthusiastic. He started clapping alone and the rest of the people in the room joined him.

"Okay everyone; we'll see those of you who have the first scenes in two days." Emily announced. "Until then!"

As soon as Emily finished talking, Isabelle threw the script in her purse and left the room in a heartbeat. She cursed herself for wearing 7 inch heels that day as she tried to speed through the corridors to get to her car faster.

When she reached the parking lot, Isabelle sighed with relief. She had a whole new admiration for actresses who played action roles on high heels. Her heart was beating a little faster from running, but at least she had missed Hunt.

"Isabelle."

 _No, no, no._

She turned around and saw Hunt, standing near her as if he had been there the whole time. He looked impatient.

"We need to talk." His tone was the exact same tone he used on her whenever she got into trouble back in Hollywood U. "What you did there today was extremely unprofessional."

"I already apologized for being late." She knew that was not what he meant.

Hunt scoffed. "You know I'm not talking about that. What I am talking about is you acting like you saw a ghost when you noticed me in the room. And then pulling your agent friend out of there with no discretion at all..."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Isabelle was a bad liar and she knew that he could tell. Hunt could always read her _so_ well. "I'll admit I was surprised to see you, but my talk with Ethan had nothing to do with that. You were the one who scolded me like we were in class or something."

"You keep forgetting that I know you. Three years went by, but your maturity remains the same." Hunt walked a little closer to Isabelle, as if he was telling her a secret. "I know that working with me is not something you want. And trust me, directing a movie starring you is not on my bucket list either. But we're going to have to be professionals."

"I'm very professional." Isabelle inhaled sharply. "And what happened on those three years is none of your business, _Hunt_."

She hoped he would notice her tone of indifference while saying his last name. If he thought she still had any feelings for him, she wanted him to know that even standing him again outside of work was not something she would ever do.

Hunt looked her in the eyes, and it felt like he wanted to say something else. "I wouldn't want our history to get in the way of this movie."

 _History._ They had a lot of that, for sure. Isabelle couldn't tell if he meant their history as in their altercations and debates in his class or in a more informal way. She looked for a hint in his expression, but there was nothing. As always.

"Of course." She pressed a button on her car keys and opened the door; it couldn't be more obvious that she wanted to get out of that situation. "I'll see you on set, then."

"Until then, Isabelle." Hunt walked only a few steps to his car, which only then Isabelle noticed had been parked beside hers.

When he drove away, she finally let go of the air she had been holding. A long sigh came, followed by her hands covering her face. She knew she had no feelings for Hunt anymore, but the hurt from his rejection was surprisingly still there. The worst part was that he was the one scolding her, acting as if she had thrown herself onto him and professed her undying love. And he used to say _she_ was the narcissistic one.

In her mind, flashbacks of Hunt's classes on Hollywood U kept appearing. Unfortunately, she had to face the facts: he was a good director and the movie would be great with him. She hated to admit it, but whatever bad feelings she had towards him would have to go away for good if she wanted them to work well together. A good connection between the actors and the director was a fundamental part of making any decent movie.

Driving back to her apartment, all Isabelle could think about were the things Hunt had said to her. Did he really think she was so unprofessional that she would let a couple of dates and a rejection get in the way of her career? Clearly, he did not know her as well as he claimed to.

Or, perhaps, he knew what she had hoped no one would: they had been each other's weaknesses once, and those have a way of coming back when you least expect it.

.


	2. First Day

**Author's note:** Thank you so much for the support you guys have been giving my story. I really hope I'm doing a great job! This chapter got a little bigger than expected, but it was more of an establishing chapter so it had to be. Next chapter has an important revelation so look out for that, it will be out next week.

Don't forget to leave a review if you like it or have any questions for me. Until next chapter and enjoy! ( **PS:** I'll be answering reviews at the end of the chapter.)

* * *

Brunches with Addison had become a tradition over the years. Even with their busy careers, at least once a month they would have brunch together at a place they found on Isabelle's first week at Hollywood U. It had great food and it was low-key enough that paparazzi wouldn't camp outside for pictures and only one or two fans would approach them. It was the perfect setting for their catch up meetings whenever work got too crazy and they could only communicate through a few texts a week.

Isabelle had called Addison as soon as she returned to Los Angeles the night before, at about four a.m. The fashionista had been in a sort of fashion retreat, where for a whole week they weren't allowed any kind of technology and the only thing they had permission to do was relax and work on new designs. While it probably had been fun for Addi, Isabelle wasn't very fond of her best friend being MIA right when she needed her advice.

"Okay, I know I say this a lot but I'm very grateful to you for finding this place." Addison said while eating a chocolate donut covered with sprinkles. "The food here is amazing. God, I missed Donuts."

Isabelle smiled and took a sip of her steaming black coffee. "I'm the best, aren't I?"

Addison rolled her eyes and right after that, her attention shifted to Isabelle's mug. Addi looked at her with a suspicious expression.

"You're drinking black coffee." She pointed out and Isabelle tilted her head in confusion. "You love Cappuccinos, like to the point where you're kind of obsessed. I only see you drinking black coffee when you're anxious or worried about something and you need energy to get through it."

Isabelle put down the mug she had just picked up without taking a sip.

"Yesterday on the phone you seemed distant, like there was something else on your mind. What is it?" Addison asked, taking another bite of her delicious donut.

She clenched her jaw. "It's about my movie."

"Oh! Your movie, yes. It's starting today, right?" Addison lit up. "But wait… Wasn't it delayed because you had no director yet? Did you get one?"

 _You have no idea._

"Yes, we did." Isabelle controlled her tone as to not sound too annoyed.

"Who is it? Is it someone really famous?"

Isabelle shrugged. "Well, you definitely know his works."

"Ah, I just tell me! You know I hate suspense." Addison was jumping excitedly like a kid waiting to get a new toy.

Addison would have already known had she not been in that crazy retreat, because the news of Hunt directing the movie had been _everywhere_. A famous screenwriter had written _Alexis_ and getting a prestigious director, such as Hunt, was even more reason for everyone to be talking about it.

Isabelle sighed and looked away, returning her gaze to Addison after a second. "It's Hunt."

She took a second to process Isabelle's words. "Wait. Hunt as in _Professor Hunt_? _Your_ Hunt?"

"He's not _my_ Hunt!" Isabelle exclaimed, lowering her voice quickly. The place was low-key, but she was bound to be noticed if she just started screaming. "He's not my anything."

"Well… He _is_ your director." Addison smiled and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

It was hard to forget that with everyone reminding her. Just the day before, Isabelle turned on the TV to watch trashy reality shows and get her mind off things and there he was, being the main subject on a celebrity gossip show. Apparently, his silver screen return was _much_ anticipated.

"Addi!"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just… Surprised. That's all." Addison used a fork as a pen and a napkin as a notepad and looked at Isabelle as she pretended to write something. "How do you feel about that, Miss Santiago?"

"Stop joking!" Isabelle laughed and threw a piece of a croissant at her best friend. Her smile fell from her face and she sighed. "I don't know, honestly. I feel weird, I guess. I mean it's Hunt, it can't _not_ be weird. And he's still his harsh, mean self so I'm definitely in for a ride. Can you believe that he asked _me_ to be professional? _Me?_ "

"What? Why did he say that?" Addison dropped the therapist act; she noticed that Isabelle was serious about the situation.

"I may have dragged Ethan outside the room when I saw Hunt. It _was_ unprofessional, but I was just so surprised. When I left Hollywood U I thought I'd never see him again, at least not in a situation like this." Isabelle stared at her coffee; Addison was right about the reason she was drinking it. "He said that despite our history, we had to be professional. As if I would really put my career at risk because of something that happened three years ago. _Please._ "

Isabelle rolled her eyes. That whole situation was really getting on her nerves.

"Okay, as your best friend and someone who knows about what happened between you two, I have to ask." Addison hesitated. "Do you still have feelings for Hunt?"

"No. _God, no!_ " Isabelle scoffed, dismissing the idea. "I may have had some feelings for him for a minute when I was in Hollywood U, but I definitely don't feel anything for him now."

It was true. Isabelle had no feelings for Hunt; she hadn't had them in a long time. As much as seeing him again brought something back inside of her, romantic feelings were not it. It _couldn't_ be.

"So what is the big problem about him directing the movie?"

Isabelle hesitated. What was the big problem, after all? She knew romantic feelings for him weren't there, so what was left?

"I think it's because as much as he did it to try to help me, Hunt always scolding me and complaining about every little thing I tried to do wasn't nice. I feel like he'll never treat me as his equal." Isabelle looked down. "I worked hard to be where I am. I have this amazing acting career and all, but when I'm near him it feels like I'm that nobody college kid again."

The times that Hunt yelled that her and called her a disgrace or something along those lines were still fresh on her memory. But they weren't the worst things he had done to her. He had made her _like_ him, think that she actually had a chance with him and that she knew the _real_ him, only to then shatter all of those illusions. Humiliating her in front of the whole class would have been less cruel.

Nevertheless, his critics felt worse for her than for the rest of the class. Maybe it was because Hunt really did see potential on her, or maybe he just liked to be mean to people to feel better about himself. Whichever one it was, Isabelle wouldn't let him step on her to make himself taller anymore.

"So tell him that. Tell him that, three years ago, you didn't have a career and you needed him to teach you and criticize you like that. But now you're a real actress and you're working _together_ , not for him." Addison crossed her arms decidedly. "Demand that he treats you like an equal."

"Wow. I like this confident, boss lady Addison!" Isabelle smiled, that was exactly the kind of best friend advice she needed. "I'll do that."

"After that, working with him shouldn't be too hard." Addison said. "Truth be told, Hunt is an amazing director. With him on your movie, your chances of getting that Oscar are even better."

Isabelle grunted. "Yeah, I know. Like I told him, I'll be profes–"

Her phone started ringing in the middle of her sentence and she saw Ethan's name appear on the screen over a picture of him, Addison and Isabelle together in the premiere of one of her movies.

"Hey, Ethan!" Isabelle greeted him.

"Hi, how's my favorite and most talented client today?" Ethan was on charming mode, she noticed.

"I know that you probably have some bad news, but I like the compliment. I really am your most talented client." Isabelle smiled and winked at Addison. "And I better be your favorite for real since I'm your best friend."

"Of course you are." Ethan's voice lowered a little. "But, listen… Production was moved up a little because of our delay so you need to be here early."

"How early?" Isabelle regretted asking, she did not want to know.

"Well… Right now." Ethan said and she could picture him cringing. "I'm sorry, I know you're having brunch with Addison but they don't wanna waste any time."

Isabelle sighed. "It's okay; it's not your fault. I'll be there soon."

"Okay. Remember: you're my favorite!" Ethan laughed and hung up.

"Sorry Addi, I gotta go." Isabelle took out a twenty dollar bill and left it on the table while taking her bag and getting up.

"Better not be late to your first day with Hunt, huh? We've been there…" Addison laughed while Isabelle gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Isabelle laughed too, that was surprisingly one of her favorite memories from Hollywood U. It had just been her first day and she had already managed to be labeled a troublemaker and have a feud with a professor.

"Shut up."

* * *

Ethan was waiting for Isabelle on the studio's front gate when she pulled up in her brand new black Ferrari, a gift from Lisa for her help on the pop star's new tour. Isabelle thought it was too much, but Lisa wouldn't take it back and kept insisting that she accepted it. In the end, it wasn't like a new car was a bad thing, so she kept it and decided to drive it for the first time that day. With the car top down, she quickly spotted her agent waving at her.

"Come on, you're almost late!" He yelled and jumped into her passenger's set. "Good morning."

"Wow, did you have one of those energy drinks again?" Isabelle shot him a disapproving look. "You know those aren't good for you."

Ethan winked at her and she knew the answer. She drove her car to her parking spot and noticed Hunt's car a couple of spots away from hers. Wouldn't it be just _great_ if they bumped into each other while leaving?

"Let's go!" Ethan opened the door and he was out of the car faster than Isabelle could take off her seat belt.

As Isabelle and Ethan walked together to Studio 3, where filming was happening that day, she couldn't stop wondering what would happen. A part of her wished that she could just completely ignore Hunt, but she knew that was not an option. Addison was right, she needed to confront him and let him know that she was on his level and she wouldn't be treated as anything less.

Ethan opened the studio door to Isabelle and she was blown away. There were so many people there that she lost count, all of them running around and looking extremely busy. She looked around and saw the set for her first scene of the day: a small bedroom with walls painted in a light tone of lilac, a couple of stuffed toys, a bed fit for a child, a tiny shelf with books and an old guitar falling to pieces. That was her character's childhood bedroom and the set of one of the best scenes on the movie, at least Isabelle thought so. It was exciting to see the bedroom she envisioned on her mind while reading the script come to life like that.

She turned to talk to Ethan when she spotted someone else. "Isabelle." _Hunt._ "I see that you're on time today. _Barely._ "

Hunt looked more… director-like that day. He was still wearing an expensive looking suit like the one he wore two days before, except this time, it was black, and he carried a copy of the movie script as if it was the Bible. Isabelle noticed he had a pair of glasses tucked away in his pocket and she wondered when he had started wearing them.

Isabelle faked a smile. "Yes. That's part of the whole me being a professional thing."

"Good. I expect you to be ready soon."

Before she could answer, he left. Ethan followed Hunt with his gaze for a second before turning back to Isabelle.

"Should I be worried?" He asked.

"About Hunt? No, I don't think so. I can deal with him." She said, and she really meant it. Dealing with Hunt was a priority for the day.

"Oh, good. I don't think it will be too hard, this movie is really important to him."

"Really? Why?" Isabelle asked, curious.

She hadn't heard much about Hunt over the years. Mostly because she blocked his name from her browse searches and all social media. For the first months, she wasn't ready to see some news about him and Marianne and after that it just felt silly to do Google searches about him like an obsessed stalker. For three years, it felt as if Hunt was nothing more than just a ghost from her past. She should have known he would come back to haunt her.

"You don't know?" Ethan noticed Isabelle's clear confused expression and continued. "Hunt's last movie was good, but it didn't do well at the box office. Now people are worried he lost his touch. This movie is kind of make it or break it for him."

"I had no idea. I mean, it's Hunt, you don't expect anything other than a critically acclaimed movie with a solid box office." Isabelle spotted Hunt talking to an actor not far from them; he looked concentrated. She looked back at Ethan with a somewhat sad expression. "I feel kind of bad for him. I know how much he loves being a director and working with movies and all."

 _Movies give me hope._ She remembered he said that when they were trapped in that movie set. It had felt like such a nice, spontaneous moment. For a second, Hunt had just been himself with her and she could see them talking like that forever. It was strange that once he had been everything she wanted and in the present, he was everything she did _not_ want.

"You won't have to feel bad for too long if the movie does well." Ethan pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Now, less talk and more getting ready. The makeup room is ready for you and after that go change into your outfit for the first scene. Have fun!"

Ethan walked away a little too excitedly and Isabelle could only laugh at him. No more energy drinks for him for a long time.

* * *

Her makeup had been simple and quick – the scene was about her going back to the basics, to who she was before fame, so it only made sense to look natural – and she changed into her outfit right after. The white dress looked beautiful on her – it was supposed to represent her simplicity, or something like that – and her hair was tied in a messy bum (a cliché, she was aware).

After those things were finished, she was ready to begin the scene. It was between Isabelle's character, Alexis, and her older sister. The actress playing the sister, Tracy, was very talented and Isabelle had liked her ever since they met months before. It was nice getting to work with people she actually liked; better than to work twice as hard to pretend you didn't hate someone.

The set was ready for the scene when she arrived and Tracy was sitting on the chair marked with her name, probably reading her lines for the scene. Hunt was next to her, checking the lighting and scolding one of the maintenance people for not getting one of them fixed on time. How typical.

As Isabelle approached Tracy and hugged her, Hunt saw them and walked over after glancing at the person he was talking to in a very threatening way.

"Tracy, Isabelle, go to your marks. We're starting now." He ordered.

Tracy stood outside the bedroom set, waiting for her cue to come in while Isabelle was behind the door. Since Isabelle was first, Hunt came to her.

"This scene is all about Alexis's realization of everything she lost. You'll open the door and walk around the room for a while, remembering how things used to be. It's all about the nostalgia." He said, gesturing around the room. Isabelle listened to his words attentively, nodding. "The most important thing is that feeling that she lost a part of herself. It's about missing something you never thought you would."

Isabelle shifted uncomfortably; something about what he said had spoken to her. _It's about missing something you never thought you would._

"Do you understand what I want from you, Isabelle?" He asked, taking her away from her thoughts.

"Yes, I do." She nodded.

"Then let's start."

Hunt yelled 'action' and the scene began with Isabelle opening the door to her bedroom slowly, hesitantly. She kept her hand on the doorknob a little too long, to give out the feeling that she didn't want to see what was inside just yet. Once she was inside the room, she froze for a second; Alexis wasn't ready to see so many things about her past at once.

As Hunt told her, Isabelle looked around the room with that nostalgic feeling and stopped at Alexis's old guitar. She picked up the white, dusty old instrument and passed her hands on the cords thoughtfully. She was about to attempt to play it when Tracy walked in.

"I thought I'd find you here." She said; in her hands, there was a black envelope where Alexis's name could be seen written on the back in calligraphy. She handed it to Isabelle. "This was on our front door when I came in."

Isabelle looked at the envelope for a second and thought about taking it, ultimately dismissing Tracy's hand.

"That's an invitation for the party that the record label is throwing for me to celebrate my second album going diamond." Isabelle gulped and looked at her guitar. "I should be happy, I think."

"Why a–"

"Cut!" Hunt interrupted Tracy's line and walked straight to Isabelle. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Isabelle already knew what was coming; she didn't even have to ask.

"That flat, God awful delivery." He sighed and looked up for a second. "You need to do better than that if you expect to even be _considered_ for that Oscar nomination you so desperately want and, frankly, _need_. Try harder."

What she desperately wanted was to give him a good, sarcastic reply to his smug words. Nevertheless, she knew better than to do that; he would just come up with some worse way of criticizing her and she didn't want to deal with that situation. Instead, she just nodded and thanked God that he moved on to Tracy.

"As for you, your delivery was good. Just try to put more focus on the envelope, okay?" Hunt said and Isabelle could swear there was something almost _sweet_ about his tone. It was clear, not just to her, that he had been far nicer to Tracy.

"Again, from Tracy's line."

Tracy shot Isabelle a supporting look; at least someone was on her side. They played the scene again, until it came to Isabelle's lines that Hunt had complained about.

"That's an invitation for the party that the record label is throwing for me. To celebrate my second album going diamond." Isabelle looked at her guitar sadly. "I should be happy." She faked a smile that quickly disappeared. "I think."

Hunt didn't say anything, but at least he hadn't yelled again. It was irritating to her that she _did_ want him to like her acting. After all, what was she expecting? A _compliment?_ If she did, she clearly forgot who she was putting her expectations on. Getting a compliment from Hunt was like finding a four-leaf clover; it took a lot of work and a lot of luck.

The scene went by without any more comments from Hunt. Isabelle tried to sneak looks at him sometimes to see if he showed any expression of liking or hating their work, but it was useless. Hunt never showed his true feeling in his expressions.

"Cut!" He said once Isabelle delivered her last line. "Congratulations, you've managed to do a somewhat _good_ job today. Keep it up and you might actually call yourselves actresses when this movie is over."

Tracy left for her trailer and Hunt sat in his director chair to go over the script. Isabelle knew that was the perfect moment to talk to him, but that didn't make her any less nervous.

She had to talk to him; that was obvious. Maybe he would even _like_ that she had the courage to confront him and stand up for herself. Or maybe he would hate her even more, if that were possible. Isabelle decided to go to him before she talked herself out of it.

 _Bling. Bling. Bling._

Her phone started ringing and she thought about letting it go to voicemail before seeing Ethan's name on the screen. If there was one thing she learned over the years was to never ignore his calls; it could be something important.

"Hi, Ethan." Isabelle said. "Why are you calling me? I thought you were on the set too."

Ethan growled. "I _was_. But there was a problem with the recording studio and I had to come fix it. Apparently, they had double booked your recording session for next week."

Isabelle was already nervous about her first professional recording session before and the news that there were problems with it wasn't helping. Alexis was a singer and even though Isabelle performed a song on her audition and the producers loved her voice, she wasn't sure if the rest of the world would.

"But you fixed it?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course I did, I'm _amazing._ " Ethan was probably smiling smugly on the other line. He definitely had noticed Isabelle's worries, too. "Don't worry, everything is okay now. You'll record next week and it will be great."

"Thank you, Ethan. You _are_ amazing." Isabelle felt relieved for a second, and then she remembered she still needed to have a talk with her director. "That's all you wanted to tell me?"

Hunt was still in his chair and if Ethan hung up soon she would still be able to talk to him.

"Actually, no. I was wondering… When are you going to announce the engagement?"

Isabelle shrugged. "I don't know. Chris and I haven't talked about that yet, he's been like super busy lately."

As much as Isabelle admired Chris's work and understood the importance of him doing endless press junkets around the world, the downside of him being so famous was that she didn't get much time with him. Nevertheless, she was proud of him and they made it work; that was enough for the time being. She hoped things would change once they were married.

"Well, if you did it soon enough the number of pre-movie interviews I can get you would double."

"Why would that get me more interviews about the movie?"

"Because hungry reporters will do _anything_ to get more news about you and Chris, even sit during a thirty minute interview where all you talk about is your movie and make a small mention to your engagement in the end." Ethan said. "Besides, an engagement is pretty much free publicity. People love engagements. That _Keeping Up With The Kardashians_ episode where Kanye proposed was one of the most watched episodes of the show."

"Why do you even know that?" Isabelle held a laugh. Why _did_ Ethan know such a random thing?

"I'm an agent. I _have_ to know stuff like that, Izz." Isabelle should have known that he would say that; that was his standard answer to anything that he didn't _actually_ have an answer to. "So… Can I announce the engagement?"

"No, Chris and I will announce that we're engaged in our own time." Isabelle said, and she realized she sounded rude the second the words came out. "I love you and you're an amazing agent but this is… Too private. And if I don't get more interviews because I refuse to sell out my private life, I'm fine with that."

Isabelle knew once she entered the business that things would work like that, so she made a promise to herself to always stay true to whom she was and never change because it would make her more famous or get her more publicity. In the end, she would rather lose a movie role or an interview than lose herself.

"I can't say you're wrong. And it's nice to know that stardom hasn't changed you." Ethan hesitated. "I'll do my best to get you as many interviews as possible."

"Thank you, now–"

"Wait! One more thing…" Ethan interrupted. "The producers would love to have Chris Winters doing a cameo or something on the movie. Think he would be up to it?"

"I'll talk to him about it, but I don't see why not." Isabelle checked the time on her phone. Only two minutes had gone by but thanks to her nervousness, they became ten. "Now I really gotta go."

"Okay, superstar. Talk soon."

She could only imagine that Ethan was already making some plan to get her a good amount of interviews. One thing she could never complain about when it came to him was his dedication.

"Bye, E."

Isabelle turned around to have her much anticipated talk to Hunt when she noticed he was gone. She decided to go his trailer and check if he was there; her courage wouldn't last much longer.

Knocking on his trailer door, Isabelle went over her speech in her mind. She didn't wanna be too abrupt with him because, honestly, she knew he didn't deserve it. Most of her anger was about unresolved things from their past, a past which he had _clearly_ moved on from and so should her. She was ready to put all of that behind and start a clean slate with Hunt.

However, he did not answer the door. Isabelle decided to believe that he simply wasn't there rather than think he didn't want to answer. She took a deep breath and set her mind to talk to him some other day, once her confidence came back.

* * *

Isabelle's drive home was calm, but she was extremely exhausted. She had shot a few more scenes with Tracy and some with Jake, all while trying to avoid being yelled at by Hunt. She thought about talking to him, but her confidence to do that was gone and it wasn't going to come back too soon. Therefore, she let it go for the moment and focused on giving her best to the movie.

Now, opening the door of her apartment, all Isabelle wanted was a hot bubble bath and a good night's sleep. However, as she opened the door, she was taken aback by a dark room lit up only by a couple of candles. She opened her mouth in surprise when she felt a warm embrace behind her.

"Surprise!" Chris said and she turned her head to look at him. He gave her a long, deep kiss and then smiled. "I missed this."

"You're back!" Isabelle smiled and hugged him tight. "I thought you were in France today for your press tour."

"I got to leave early so I decided to surprise my beautiful fiancé." He took Isabelle's hand and guided her to the table where dinner was served.

"You definitely surprised me." Isabelle pulled him in for another kiss and in that moment, all of her professional troubles were out of her mind.

If only it were that easy to get _Hunt_ out of her mind too.

* * *

 _Thank you so much for reading, and here are my answers to your reviews!_

 _ **Amanda:** Thank you so much, glad to hear you're enjoying the fic! And her engagement to Chris will definitely bring some drama, just you wait ;)_

 _ **Guest:** Aw, you really think so? Thank you!_

 _ **CatsRtheBOSS:** Thank you, and I do have a soft spot for Chris too but I have an even softer spot for Hunt and MC haha. You're right about Ethan, maybe he was just having a bad day? And he's really protective of his suits._

 _ **isabellexcx:** Aw izz, thank you for your support! This fic wouldn't even exist without you._

 _ **Guest:** Hm... Jealous Hunt, I do like the sound of that. MC changed on those three years for sure, but there are some parts of her personality that are still the same. Thank you for your comments!_


	3. The Dress and The Ex

**Author's note:** Thank you for your support for my story, I'm loving your reviews. This chapter got things moving a little, as the last two ones were more of establishing chapters. _I'll be updating the story at least once a week, probably on Friday or Saturday._

 **PS:** Next week, you'll finally get a **Hunt POV** chapter! I'm so excited for it and I hope I can do him justice. Please let me know what you think of the new chapter and as always, I'll be replying to your reviews at the end of the chapter.

* * *

 _ **Three days later...**_

Waking up beside Chris was not something Isabelle had gotten completely used to yet. Not just because they had only moved in together three months before, but also because their careers were so busy that they were rarely home at the same time. Nevertheless, it _did_ feel nice to be in his arms and have her hair caressed by him in slow, sweet movements.

"You sure you need to go to set this early?" Chris asked, reluctant to let her go.

"Unfortunately, I do." Isabelle shifted on the bed to face Chris. "I don't feel like getting called out for being late again."

"I see that Thomas Hunt is still his… _Perfectionist_ self, then." Chris said, and she could tell that he had looked for a nicer word to describe Hunt.

"Try harsh and mean." She rolled her eyes. She did _not_ want to be talking about Hunt in the few minutes she still had with Chris. "But enough about him. You've been here for three days, and I'm guessing you're not staying for too long."

"I have to go to a few countries for the premieres before the Los Angeles one. I'll have to leave today but I promise I'll be back soon." Chris stared at Isabelle for a second before pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. "I miss you. I hate being gone all the time."

"Me too." She smiled and rested her face on his chest. "And it's fine, really. It's your job and as an actress myself, I know how hard it is."

Chris sighed, agreeing. They stayed together like that for a while, until Isabelle had to get up and start getting ready. Chris stayed in bed while she entered their walk–in closet and chose a simple outfit for the day; a black skirt paired with a basic white shirt and heels. She began doing her makeup as Chris got up and started to go through their drawers. Isabelle had no idea what the hell he was doing until she noticed him holding a big, shiny piece of jewelry.

"Are you going to propose to me again?" She asked playfully. "Because I think I already said yes."

"You did, but the rest of the world doesn't know it yet." Chris took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. "I want everyone to know that you're mine."

Isabelle, with her strong personality, did _not_ like that phrase. The idea of belonging to someone else like that was annoying and, honestly, ridiculous. She was her own person and though she loved Chris, she wasn't his. However, she knew that he was trying to be sweet and she didn't have the energy to go on a rant at six in the morning, so she let it go and smiled instead.

"So you want to announce the engagement already?" She asked, ignoring the last part of what he said.

"Yes, I do." He smiled and took his phone out, snapping a picture of Isabelle – who covered her make–up free face – with her hand over his and her ring showing. "Time to be cliché and do an Instagram post!"

Isabelle smiled and without Chris noticing, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of him as well. Chris appeared in it shirtless and with his morning face; he hadn't been as quick as her to hide it. She smiled as he tried to take the phone away from her.

"I get to post a picture too!" She giggled. "But I'll warn you that I'm not good with Instagram captions, so your big cute text will be way better than my two lines declaration."

Chris laughed and pulled her closer to him by the waist. He kissed her repeatedly, showing just how much he had missed her.

* * *

After taking forever to leave thanks to Chris holding her up, Isabelle was finally arriving on set. As she held the steering wheel to park her car, she stared at her engagement ring. It felt somewhat surreal to be wearing it in public for the first time, but she would get used it. After all, she would get yet another ring once they were married.

The almost empty parking lot should have been a sign that Isabelle was too early. When she stepped inside the set that became even clearer. Only a couple of people from the production and workers getting the set ready were there, and Isabelle felt completely out of place. She greeted everyone cheerfully, although most of them seemed annoyed by her happiness, and then walked quickly to the trailer area. The awkwardness was almost ending when she spotted Hunt walking near her trailer.

He looked at her surprised. "Isabelle? Why are you here so early?"

"Thought I'd make it up for being late to that table reading. And then being _barely_ on time the other day." She replied, imitating the way he had said 'barely' to her.

"Good to see you're at least trying to take this seriously." Hunt stared at her for a little too long and she felt a self–conscious. _What was he looking at?_

"So… I'm gonna wait on my trailer, I guess." Isabelle said, turning around to leave.

"Congratulations." Hunt blurted out, looking a little… _annoyed?_ Isabelle couldn't really tell from his face, but he definitely wasn't amused.

"What?" She replied, confused.

"On your engagement." He clarified, pointing to her diamond ring. For a second she had even forgotten that she was wearing it.

Isabelle shook her head. "Oh! Right. Uh… Thank you."

"Chris Winters is a… Nice guy. A little _too_ nice for me." Hunt raised his eyebrows. "A decent actor too, although his careers choices aren't always the best. While I can appreciate versatility, his constant shifting between genres doesn't match his talent."

Isabelle didn't know what she expected Hunt to say, but insulting Chris like that wasn't it. She had to remember whom she was talking to; he insulted _everyone_.

"He really is nice." She crossed her arms, frowning. "And I think he's a _great_ actor."

Hunt seemed surprised by her reaction. "I didn't mean to offend you, I just–"

"No, I get it. You're just bad at human emotions." She shrugged, annoyed. "Guess your software needs an upgrade."

Isabelle was aware of how rude that had been. Had the joke been made three years ago, Hunt could have given her a half smile and even joke back, but they weren't in those terms anymore so it had just been plain rude. Not that she cared, because he had been rude as well.

She opened the door to her trailer and disappeared before she could see Hunt's reaction. He would probably take it out on her later, so it didn't matter.

* * *

Her first scene started in an hour and a half and Isabelle hated herself for getting to set that early. She could have stayed home longer, enjoyed a nice breakfast with Chris and avoided that awkward altercation with Hunt. Instead, she had chosen to let her actions be affected by Hunt's comments, and she was paying for it. Did some small part of her still want his approval? No, that _definitely_ wasn't it.

The scene they would shoot that day wasn't even going to be on that set. It was on a big mansion all the way over Hollywood Hills, to where everyone from the crew would drive together in about an hour. She had been especially looking forward to it, and no one was going to ruin that for her.

Isabelle was walking around her trailer impatient when she spotted her dress for the scene. It was a beautiful black gown, designed exclusively for the movie by this famous designer. She had worn it once at her wardrobe fitting, but that had been a month before and she barely remembered what it looked like on her body. It wouldn't do any harm to put it on, right? She would have to be in it for the scene anyways, and she would be very careful with it.

The dress slipped right into her hands when she unzipped the bag that protected it. She took out her clothes and started to pull the dress up. The zipper was tricky and it took Isabelle a couple of minutes to close the dress completely. Nevertheless, her work was worth it because when she looked at herself in the mirror, she felt like a princess. All that was missing for her to be one was a tiara. And the actual title, but she didn't care about that.

Isabelle posed in front of the mirror dancing and doing everything she could to kill time, but there was still one hour and twenty minutes for the first scene to begin shooting. She felt a yawn coming and decided to go get herself some coffee.

"Okay pretty thing, time to get off." She told the dress, giggling at how silly it was to talk to a piece of clothing.

But Isabelle felt even sillier when she tried to unzip the dress and it was stuck. She tried and tried and tried, but nothing. It seemed like she would need someone's help to get it off her body.

"Great." Isabelle grunted and looked at the dress seriously. "I hate you."

She pouted for a while until she couldn't take it anymore. The dress was beautiful but God, was it uncomfortable. She opened the door and put her head out to see if there was anyone around to help her, but nothing.

 _I'm really gonna have to go out with this shit. Great._

An all dressed up Isabelle made her way back inside the set without seeing anyone. Funny how when she actually wanted someone to be around, no one was. She walked to craft services to eat something when her phone buzzed with lots of texts from her friends. Chris had posted that Instagram picture and the secret was out.

Addison congratulated her on the engagement once again, gushing about Chris's cute post and saying that she would be waiting for official maid of honor invite. Lisa sent a bunch of emojis and curse words, threatening Isabelle in case she didn't make the pop star one of her bridesmaids. Zoe wished her better luck than she had had with Chance and Crash texted her his best wishes quickly because he was about to jump off a plane for a scene. Those were the kind of friends Isabelle had, and she loved them even if they were completely crazy.

She smiled widely at their reactions to her news. She would always be grateful to Hollywood U for bringing them to her. After replying to all of the texts, she moved on to Ethan; while he was her best friend, the text would definitely also include business.

 ** _Ethan:_** _I already congratulated you, but I'm doing it again. It's not every day that your best friend/best client gets engaged! Now moving on from best friend to agent territory, with this news you'll get more interviews for sure. GO TEAM ISABELLE! PS: Send Chris my best and tell him that if he ever needs a new agent… ;)_

Isabelle couldn't help but to laugh at Ethan. She admired how he would always find a way to sneak business into anything, even if sometimes it was at the weirdest moments. She focused on replying to his text when she heard a yell and then the feeling of something very hot and very wet landing all over her dress.

"Hey!" Hunt cried. Of course, it just had to be him.

Isabelle didn't want to look at the dress; she already knew it was completely destroyed. She looked at Hunt with furious eyes and expected him to be just as furious, but his expression seemed different.

He scoffed. "Great, now my coffee is gone."

"Actually, it's not gone. It's right here." Isabelle pointed to her dress as her shoulders dropped. Her furious expression was gone and replaced by a sad one.

"You're as distracted as always, I see." Hunt said, staring at his now empty mug.

She couldn't believe him. She blinked a couple of times, trying to stop herself from yelling at him.

"You're not seriously implying this was my fault." Isabelle breathed deeply. "Because I swear to God, you–"

"I'm not." Hunt looked calm and that made her even more freaked out. "This was entirely my fault."

She narrowed her eyes, surprised. "Whoa, really?"

"Don't look so surprised. I can admit when I'm in the wrong." Hunt said, finally looking at the damage he had done. "Wait… Is that the dress for today's scene?"

"Yes." Isabelle murmured, looking down.

" _Isabelle!_ How could you be so careless?" He leaned forward, taking a deep breath. "Do you even know how much this dress costs?"

She hated that Hunt was right, because that meant arguing would be just pointless and a waste of time. In that moment she really, really wished she had just arrived late on set.

"A thousand dollars?" She smiled wryly.

"Not even close. But that's not the point. The point is that we're filming in an hour and there's no way we can clean the dress in that time." Hunt checked his golden – probably worth more than a thousand dollars too – watch.

"So what are we gonna do? I can't mess this up, Hunt." Isabelle was aware that she sounded like a whiny child, but she had a good enough reason for it.

"You already messed up." Hunt appeared as if he was going to walk away for a second, but then he looked at Isabelle and his eyes softened. "But, as always, I have a solution."

She lit up. "What is it?"

"Change into your normal clothes and meet me in the parking lot."

Isabelle thought about telling him that the dress was stuck, but that would result in more complaining so she tried to take it off again once she was on her trailer. To her surprise, the zipper gave in and she could finally take the dress off. Of course _now_ it was working again.

* * *

The drive to the place Hunt was taking Isabelle – which he hadn't told her where or what it was – had been quiet. Too quiet. As someone who hated awkward silences, Isabelle was freaking out internally during the ten minutes they spent in total silence; she tried to turn the radio on, but Hunt glared at her and she turned it off instantly.

When they arrived at their mysterious destination, Hunt pointed out that they were going into a shop that appeared to be still under renovations; the mannequins outside had no clothes on and there was no sign on the entrance that signed what the shop was or its name. Isabelle wondered why Hunt was dragging her to an empty store, but she remained quiet as they entered it.

Hunt walked in first and Isabelle followed behind, looking at the mess. She hadn't seen so many boxes and clothes thrown around like that since she packed her things to leave her dorm at Hollywood U. And even then, things weren't _that_ messy.

"Thomas!" A female voice echoed in the room and Isabelle recognized it instantly. "Excuse the mess; I'm still sorting things out around here."

"Marianne." Hunt smiled at her; a genuine smile, the kind that he reserved only for special occasions. Something burned inside Isabelle. "Thank you for helping us in such short notice."

 _Ew_. They were such an annoying couple. Isabelle felt her eyes rolling without her command; even they didn't like the sight of Hunt and Marianne.

"Of course. You know I'd do anything for you." She moved closer and gave Hunt a kiss on the cheek, only then noticing Isabelle. "And you must be Isabelle Santiago. I've seen some of your works."

Isabelle remembered the last time she saw Marianne, at Hunt's dinner party. Either the woman had been slightly less nice to her because she wasn't famous yet or because she noticed there was something between Hunt and Isabelle. Either way, none of that mattered anymore. Isabelle was famous and there was nothing between her and Hunt, so Marianne was free to actually be nice to her.

"Wish I could say the same. Haven't heard much about you in the past few years." Isabelle said before she could stop herself. She knew she shouldn't have said anything, but a little payback for the way she had been treated before was nice.

"I've been busy, trust me." Marianne kept her smile, looking at Hunt again and caressing his arm. "Now Thomas, you told me there was an accident involving coffee and a designer dress for your movie?" She turned her gaze to Isabelle. "You know, you really should be more careful in the future. You won't always have someone like Thomas around to save you."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. "I–"

"This time, it was not her fault." Hunt intervened; he must have sensed Isabelle would have a sharp reply to Marianne. "I wasn't paying attention and unfortunately Isabelle happened to be in the way."

Marianne was surprised with Hunt's words. She took a second to reply. "I see. Well, I set aside in the back a dress that will be perfect for your scene. You can go try it on, Isabelle."

"Thank you." Isabelle said; she still had _some_ manners.

* * *

The dressing room area was enormous; there were six smaller rooms inside this big corridor with a pink sofa and a huge mirror. Isabelle felt inside one of those movies where the bride chooses a dress in a place just like that while drinking champagne. Unfortunately, she doubted Marianne would show up to give her a glass of champagne any time soon.

As promised, the dress was on the sofa. It was red – a certain tone that made you think of blood instantly – and extremely beautiful. Isabelle dared to say it was even better than the first one, but she wouldn't let Marianne know that. She picked the dress up, touching the fabric and admiring how soft it felt. It fit her like a glove, showing her curves in a way that complimented every single part of her body. With jewelry and the magic of makeup, she would look like a queen.

Then, of course, things couldn't go completely right for once and Isabelle couldn't close the dress. She didn't need to close it to get an idea of what it would look like, but she wanted to make sure everything would be perfect. If she messed up a second time, she doubted Hunt would be as nice.

"Ouch!" She winced when she tried to get the zipper up and the metal hurt her hand.

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to close the dress, Isabelle knew there was only one option.

"Hunt!" She yelled, hoping her voice was loud enough for him to hear. "Hunt! Come here!"

She waited, but nothing. Maybe he hadn't heard her, maybe he didn't want to help her. Either way, she started taking off the dress and hoping that everything would be okay once she had to put it on set.

"Isabelle?" Hunt walked in and Isabelle jumped. She pulled her dress up quickly, hoping he hadn't caught a glimpse of anything NSFW in the mirror. "Oh, I'm–"

He stopped abruptly.

"It's fine, I'm dressed." Isabelle said, thinking that he probably had seen something and doing her best not do blush. "This stupid zipper won't work, so I need you. What's with zippers today, man? I think they all hate me."

"Of course you can't even close a dress." Hunt snorted, and she noticed his tone wasn't harsh or mean. He actually seemed entertained by her situation, like that feeling when your friend does something really stupid and you're not even mad, you just think it's funny. "Should I start keeping tabs on the many times I help you? I could charge you once the movie's over."

"Don't do that, I would probably owe you all of my salary." Isabelle chuckled, forgetting for a moment that they weren't in good terms. "Just close this damn thing, please."

Hunt placed one hand on her shoulder for balance and with the other, he smoothly pulled the zipper up and closed the dress. Isabelle looked at him in disbelief.

"That's it, zippers are conspiring against me."

"Or you're just bad at simple things that even children can do." Hunt shrugged; there was almost a smile forming in his lips.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and admired herself in the mirror again. She couldn't stop looking at how beautiful the dress looked on her and maybe, _yes_ , she was a little narcissistic. But how could you not be when you looked as great as that?

Through the mirror, she noticed Hunt looking at her discretely. At least she thought that was his intention, because she could clearly see him staring at her wide–eyed. If only she could read his mind…

" _Isabelle…_ " He said, almost as a whisper. His eyes were soft and they hadn't wandered off of her even for a second.

"Yes?"

Isabelle didn't move or blink, waiting for his answer. She couldn't help but to be curious. What was he going to say? Was he actually about to give her a _compliment_?

Hunt shook his head as if he was sending away a thought. "Take off the dress."

"What?!" Isabelle's heart beat faster.

"I said take off the dress." Hunt crossed his arms impatiently. "We have to go. Filming starts soon, remember? I won't let you ruin this dress too. So come on, take it off."

She hoped he hadn't noticed her reaction. Not even Isabelle herself knew what _that_ had been. She looked around for a few seconds, unsure of what to say.

"Oh. Right. Okay, I'll… Take off the dress." She gestured for the exit of the dressing room. "You kind of need to leave, though."

Hunt nodded and left before Isabelle could embarrass herself any further. She took off the dress carefully – she would not destroy another one – and put it on a protective bag, changing back into her regular clothes. She looked much less impressive as she walked out of the dressing room.

"Thank you again for doing this." Isabelle walked into the front of the store just as Hunt gave Marianne a hug. He noticed her coming and stepped away. "How much do I owe you?"

Hunt reached for his wallet but Marianne stopped his hand. "Please, this was a favor. But if you insist, you can pay me by taking me to dinner. I have been hearing marvelous things about a new Italian restaurant near my old office."

"Dinner sounds… Good." Hunt smiled at her, again. "But for now, we really need to go. Today's scene is in Hollywood Hills and we're running late."

"Of course, I wouldn't want to make you late." Marianne kissed Hunt on the cheek and then hugged Isabelle awkwardly. "Be careful with that dress."

"Trust me, I will be." Isabelle narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Hollywood Hills was everything Isabelle imagined and more. Just the way up the hill was already beautiful, and all of the houses looked like they were something out of a movie. She kept looking out of the window with a glow in her eyes, not caring if Hunt thought she looked like a child. That was her dream neighborhood and she was going to enjoy every minute there.

They kept going up the hill until Hunt stopped outside a big mansion painted in white and gold. Production cars, trucks and equipment were already outside and Isabelle spotted a few familiar actors outside reading their lines.

"We're here." Hunt side-eyed Isabelle. " _On time."_

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it, I'm late a lot. You can stop complaining about that."

"Or you can stop being late."

Isabelle gasped outraged. "I was early today!"

"Just get inside the house. We'll start soon." Hunt looked like he couldn't wait to get away from Isabelle.

"What about the dress? I'm pretty sure the producers and literally everyone else will notice the difference."

"Leave that to me. I'll deal with them." Hunt reassured her.

Isabelle nodded and got out of the car. She entered the mansion and felt a _"whoa"_ coming out of her mouth as she saw the inside of it. The entrance was magnificent, with a beautiful silver stairwell and a small stage set up for her. The production people had already set up the equipment and the extras were starting to show up, dressed in formal attire and looking like models.

"Izz!" Isabelle turned around to see Addison dressed in a beautiful white gown with pearls and a golden makeup. She looked like the star of an old movie. "You know, when you asked me to be an extra in the movie, I thought I'd actually get to hang out with you."

Isabelle hugged Addison. She didn't have enough time with Addison as it was, and inviting her to be on set so they could spent time together and not being there was bad.

They let go of each other and Addison's expression hadn't changed. "I know, I'm sorry. Hunt took forever to get here. He insisted he knew a shortcut, but I'm pretty sure it took longer than the regular way."

"Hunt?" Addison looked confused. "What were you doing with Hunt?"

 _There was no backing down from that one._

Isabelle sighed; she did not want to be talking about him with Addison. Or anyone else, for that matter. "He spilled coffee all over my dress for today's scenes, so we ended up having to find a replacement."

"Is that it?" Addison pointed at the bag Isabelle was carrying.

"Yeah, courtesy of the one and only Marianne Delacroix." She looked at the bag and her jaw clenched. "Nothing better than needing a favor from your… Ex's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Addison stared at Isabelle like she missed something. "She's not Hunt's girlfriend."

"They broke up?" She asked, hopeful.

She wasn't hoping that they weren't together anymore, that wasn't it. She wanted Addison to tell her that they _were_ together, at least at one point, because otherwise it meant that Hunt lied to her. And she had no idea how she would react to that.

"No…" Addison sounded condescending and Isabelle didn't like that. "Izz, they were never together."

Isabelle shook her head because _no_ , it couldn't be. Hunt told her specifically that he wanted Marianne, that he would be with her and not with Isabelle. She didn't know what to think or what to say. Did Hunt say that just to get rid of her? Or did he have feelings for Marianne and she didn't want to be with him? She did seem to want it bad at her store…

"That doesn't make sense. Hunt said…"

Addison interrupted. "I know. But Marianne went to France about a month after that dinner party. She was there until a couple of months ago, and she had a boyfriend the whole time." She bit her lips. "There's no way Hunt and her were ever together."

Not being able to make sense out of anything, Isabelle sighed and stared at the ground for a moment. She realized in that moment that Hunt's reasons for lying didn't matter, none of that did. Without being dumped for someone else, her anger wasn't there anymore. She was done. She could finally just move on.

Isabelle shot Addison a bright smile. "I have to go get my makeup and hair done, but once I'm done with that we'll hang out, okay?"

Addison looked at her as if she was crazy. "I know that look. Please tell me you're not about to do anything crazy?"

"I'm not." Isabelle winked and she knew that wasn't reassuring. "Later, Addi."

Aware of her friend's gaze on her, she took a different way in which Addison wouldn't see her. When she got to her destination, her heart was racing. She knocked on the door and waited.

The door opened, revealing a less than pleased figure on the other side.

 _"Hunt, can we talk?"_

* * *

 ** _Replies to your reviews:_**

 _ **CatsRtheBOSS:** Aw, poor Chris haha thank you for your review and you'll be getting that Hunt chapter next week (I might even do two chapters in a row on his POV, depending on how well the first one does.) I'll be updating the fic once a week, most likely on friday or saturday._

 _ **Guest:** That's so nice to hear. I was worried about getting everyone's personalities right, but I'm glad I'm doing a good job at that. Thank you for your review and the drama is COMING! _

_**Amanda:** I think it would kill Hunt to be nice to Isabelle for too long haha thanks for your review and Chris being back will sure bring some drama along._


	4. Through His Eyes

**Author's note:** Thank you for reading and supporting the story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and that I was able to do Hunt justice. I was really nervous about writing him, so please give me your feedback on his POV. I'll be replying to your reviews at the end of the chapter!

 **PS:** I also shared my fancast for some of the characters down there, so say if you agree or tell me your fancast!

* * *

Thomas didn't know what to expect at his first class since his dinner party. The things he had said to Isabelle were still haunting him, even if he knew he had done the right thing. However, in that moment, standing in the lecture hall and looking at her empty seat, he wondered if he had actually made a _mistake._

He shook any thoughts of Isabelle away and looked at the class. "Today, we'll take a look into–"

The door slamming open and a girl with black and blue ombre hair hurrying to get inside stopped him. The students shifted their gaze from her to Thomas, expecting him to say something. But he wasn't going to, he couldn't bring himself to. There were many things he wanted to say to Isabelle, but none of them could be said there.

She took a seat next to Addison and Ethan and the blonde girl squeezed her hand under the table, probably for support. Isabelle shot her a faint smile.

He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, we'll take a look into the world of romance movies. What makes romance believable on screen? Is it a good script or the real chemistry between the actors?"

Thomas looked at Isabelle and she turned her face; he could still see the same hurt in her eyes that she had only two days before. It killed him to know that it was his entire fault. If only he could… _No._

He looked away. "In fact, let me ask you: what is love?"

He felt wrong. Asking that when Isabelle was there, clearly hurt and wanting nothing to do with love, was awful. He was merely doing his job, a lecture that he had planned weeks before, but it didn't make him feel any less like a jerk. A girl in the front row raised her hand and Thomas gestured that she could speak.

"I think that love is a crazy thing. It makes you do things you thought you never would. It's strong and beautiful." The girl smiled, lost in thought, but quickly coming back to reality. "That is, if you have real love and you're loved back. If not, love can be pretty bad."

Thomas raised his eyebrows in surprise. What started as a lovesick answer ended in a very real statement that he could agree with. Isabelle apparently heard the words clearly, as she was looking down and her friend appeared to be holding her hand tighter.

"You're right. In that sense, what qualifies as real love? What we see on the movies most of the time is what's called fake love. The atmosphere created makes you think that what you're seeing is in fact love, when most of the time it's just a rushed, unrealistic portrait of it." Thomas looked at Isabelle again. _No_ , he had to stop doing that. He focused on his words again. "Real love is a rare thing. You'll probably never find it in your life, because you're consumed with the idea that real love is like something out of a movie. You'll idealize someone and then be disappointed when they're not what you created. That's why today your assignment is to–"

"You're wrong." Thomas closed his eyes as he turned around, knowing exactly whose voice it was. Isabelle was standing up, decided as always. "Real love is not rare. As Gabriela said, love needs to be mutual. That's what people are afraid of. So the rare thing is not the love, but the people brave enough to fight for it."

Isabelle's words were strong, and anyone who didn't know her would think she was being strong too. However, Thomas could notice the change of tone in her last words and the slight tremble of her hands. He knew her _so_ well and he hated that. That was why he also knew she had no brakes when she was mad and he had to put a stop to it before she got too far. He wouldn't want things to escalate any further.

"Perhaps you're right." He said calmly. "Let's see what conclusions everyone gets from this week's assignment."

Isabelle hadn't been satisfied with his answer and she tried to stand up to say something else, but her agent friend stopped her. Thomas silently thank the boy; he didn't know what would happen if they kept that discussion going, but nothing good could come from it.

The rest of the lecture went by without any problems. Isabelle barely looked at him the whole time, focusing on the board or on the ground or anything that wasn't him. He kept sneaking looks at her, noticing how she had bags under her eyes and how that usual _light_ she had seemed to be out that day. He wished things were different. He wished _he_ were different.

Little did he know that when she walked out of the lecture hall and shot a sad glance at him, it would be the last time she went to one of his classes.

* * *

Thomas loathed himself for knowing exactly what day that was. He wished it were just another regular rainy Monday morning; not the day Isabelle would leave Hollywood U and never come back. But what was even the point, honestly? He had let her go. He was the reason she was carrying all of those boxes to a truck and saying goodbye to her friends.

The only reason why he even knew she was leaving was because Priya told him; she looked a little too eager about that too. He knew he shouldn't have expected Isabelle herself to tell him that after the things he said to her, but a part of him wished she could have just forgotten everything and stayed. She was a good student and Hollywood U could use – in fact, _needed_ \- someone like her. It was sad to see her go both as a teacher and as someone who had feelings for her. Feelings that were better off kept hidden, for both of them.

As he watched her through his office window thinking that he looked like an idiot, Isabelle hugged her friends sadly. She was half crying, half laughing and Thomas didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't know how to feel about _her_ , and since he always knew what to do in every situation, being in doubt about Isabelle of all people was very annoying.

She was his student for God's sake; it was obvious why they couldn't be together. It was wrong, end of discussion. Nevertheless, if it really was so wrong, why did kissing her always feel so incredible? Why did his name sound so good in her mouth? Why did it all feel so _right_?

He felt a clutch in his heart when he saw Isabelle getting into her car and leaving the premises of the university. Her friends waved at her and Thomas could only think that he should have been there, he should have said _something_ , even if it was just an awkward goodbye.

He should have said so much to Isabelle. But things were complicated and she was _right_ , brave people were rare and he wasn't one of them. Missing her would be worst; he was preparing himself for that. Not having her in his classes, not listening to her laugh echo in the hallways, not watching her become the actress he knew she would… The university would be a little less happy without her, and so would he.

He would always regret not saying goodbye.

* * *

Thomas hadn't seen Isabelle in over a year when one day, out of the blue, he turned on his TV and there she was walking the red carpet on the premiere of her new movie. She looked different, wearing a red dress that a year before would have been too mature for her, but now it felt right. She looked older not only in her looks. Her hair, once a black and blue ensemble, had gone back to its natural black only color. He wondered if she had dyed it because she wanted to or because of a movie role.

By her side, golden boy Chris Winters smiled widely with his hand on her hips. She was smiling back at him; she looked _so_ happy, and Thomas knew he shouldn't care but he did. Because that smile was supposed to be for him and she was supposed to be walking the red carpet with him, and he only had himself to blame for that. He had to remember that he gave up on her, not the contrary, and so he couldn't say anything. He didn't get to feel jealous just because he dropped the sun and someone else picked it up.

 _Great, now he was comparing Isabelle to the sun. What was it about that girl that made him think things like that?_

He took the remote to change the channel but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he kept watching as they cut to a live interview with her. For some reason that made him feel closer to her, knowing that she was _talking_ at the same time that he was _listening_.

"So… Recently, rumors that you two are thinking about getting married surfaced. Any comments on that? The fans would die!" The interviewer laughed.

 _Getting married._ Thomas felt a wrench in his stomach. He knew they were probably just rumors, after all they hadn't been together that long, but still… The thought made him feel uneasy.

"Oh, no, no!" Isabelle took the lead, laughing. "We're not thinking of getting married for now. Sorry to disappoint."

Thomas sighed with relief, scolding himself for that immediately. Why did he care? He hadn't seen her in a year, for God's sake.

"But who knows? I'm not completely against the idea of us getting married." Chris Winters smiled and looked at Isabelle. "I mean, who would miss out on the opportunity of marrying this amazing woman?"

Isabelle smiled and gave Chris a kiss on his cheek. She was _glowing_ by his side. Closing his eyes, Thomas turned off the TV. That was it, no more watching anything related to Isabelle ever again.

 _(A week later, Thomas watched Isabelle's new movie. He wrote a review about it, and thought of sending it to her. It sat on his drafts for weeks, until one day he finally sent it. She never replied.)_

* * *

The casting process in a movie, to Thomas, was one of the most important parts of it. Casting the right actor could make a movie, and casting the wrong one could completely destroy it even if the rest of the cast was good. That was why it was so annoying for him to join a project in which almost all of the pre-production work had already been done. What was the point of taking a job that some other director had done half of already? But, in the end, _something_ drew him to it.

A final draft of his contract sat in his desk beside a copy of the movie script. _Alexis_ had an interesting enough story, but what compelled him to take it were the possibilities of what he could create in the end. There were scenes that only someone with his vision could rightfully bring to life, and he couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands.

He looked at his laptop and opened a file with the auditions for the movie. Of course, all of the roles had been already cast, but he wanted to know what he would work with before signing anything.

The auditions had been good enough and, even though none of them really stood out, it was a cast he could _shape_ into something better. Since he couldn't really do a recasting that close to the first table reading and with production already delayed, he would settle for them.

As he was closing the file, Thomas noticed an audition that he hadn't watched yet. He knew why his mind had taken his eyes off it and encouraged him to just close the file in the moment he opened the video.

"Isabelle Santiago auditioning for the role of Alexis." A bright smile took over her face, although she was clearly nervous.

For the audition, Isabelle wore a simple jeans and t-shirt combo. She had always liked to have a simple style and though Alexis wouldn't wear that, it captured the simplicity of the character before her fame. Thomas doubted she had done it intentionally, but it had been a nice touch.

After she read her lines, she said, "For the song, I'll be singing 'Down & Dirty' by Little Mix." She took a deep breath.

 ** _I'm tasty, delicious, I'm rough around the edges_**

 ** _My mind is obsessive, my flex is aggressive_**

 _Her voice._ Thomas had heard her talk, yell, rant, complain, make sarcastic comments, _everything,_ but he never heard her sing. He wasn't sure of what he expected, but he certainly didn't expect that. She had a natural talent for singing, he could tell, and she wouldn't need much work to sound like a professional for the movie.

 ** _If we only got one night_**

 ** _Forget about the world outside_**

 ** _Put your hands up real high_**

 ** _Get down and dirty…_**

While the lyrics were… Not exactly Thomas's cup of tea, he was surprised to see Isabelle sing a song like that. It did fit Alexis perfectly, but it was nothing like something Isabelle would sing. Or maybe not the Isabelle he knew. He had to remind himself that he hadn't even had a conversation with her in years.

As he watched her, he remembered that soon he wouldn't be just seeing her through a computer screen. He would see her in person, _talk_ to her, and he had no idea how that would go. As much as he could control himself, Isabelle did things to him that he would never fully understand. She had some sort of power over him that was absolutely frustrating. Three years had gone by, and the thought of Isabelle could still mess with his head.

Thomas closed the laptop and looked at his contract. Did he really want to direct a movie with Isabelle? Professionally, yes. She was a talented, Oscar nominated actress and with his directions, she would be a winner in no time. However, it wasn't the professional part that bothered him. There were unresolved things between them and he knew Isabelle enough to predict a lot of conflict.

Closing his eyes, he cursed himself. He was a renowned director and an annoying, frustrating – yet talented and hard working – ex-student, would not influence his decisions. He signed the contract and took a sip of his scotch, feeling the liquid burn down his throat.

He had no feelings for Isabelle anymore and working with her would be like working with any other actress. He had done it a million times before, and nothing would be different. He kept repeating that to himself until he believed it.

* * *

Thomas rushed through the mansion and closed the door marked with his name quickly, making a loud noise. He would need at least a couple of minutes to get his thoughts in order for the shooting. The events of the morning kept playing in his head like a broken record.

Going to Marianne's atelier, to being with, had been a rushed decision. He knew she was the best option, but there was history with her too and he should have known better than to let Isabelle in the same room as her. That alone had already been a mistake, but entering the dressing room and looking at Isabelle in the way he had, had been an even bigger one.

He wouldn't want Isabelle or anyone else to think he had feelings for her. He knew how easy it would be for her to start jumping to conclusions if he slacked even a little bit with her and that couldn't happen. Anything between them besides professional things were in the past.

Taking a sip of water, Thomas let go of those thoughts. He was about to search for the movie script when a knock on the door stopped him. He opened the door, annoyed by the disturbance, and saw the last person he wanted to see.

"Hunt, can we talk?" Isabelle asked; she looked determined.

A hundred different scenarios passed through his mind. What could she want with him?

"Alright. Talk." He said, only his head sticking out of the room.

Isabelle looked impatient. "Can I at least get in?"

"Must you?"

"Yes." She pushed through him and forced her way into the room. "I know you hate me, but can you last try to hide it?"

 _How could she think that… He could never…_

If anything, _she_ appeared to hate him. He wouldn't blame her if she did. It would make things easier.

"I don't hate you." Thomas narrowed his eyes. "What I do hate is how you're taking forever to say what it is that you want with me."

She was nervous, he could tell. The way she played with her hair was an obvious indication, and she couldn't look him in the eyes. She had been looking everywhere since she entered the room, but not once directly at him.

"I–I just..." Isabelle took a deep breath. "Look, you said I had to be a professional, but you're clearly not being one. You still treat me like I'm just one of your students."

He knew that wasn't true. He had never treated her as if she was just a student. He had never _felt_ like she was just a student. If anything, he had wished many times that she wasn't.

"I am a professional, I guarantee you that. I am merely treating you like I treat any other actors I work with." Thomas lied, knowing it was a bad lie.

He _had_ been treating Isabelle differently, because treating her even a little bit nicely would bring out a side of her that he wasn't ready to deal with. He could deal with mean Isabelle, student Isabelle, stubborn actress Isabelle, but not with _friend_ Isabelle. Not when he had treated her so badly before. He didn't deserve it.

"No, you're not. Three days ago on set, you clearly treated Tracy better than me. And it wasn't because she was better, or more talented, it was because she wasn't _me_." Isabelle blinked a few times, looking up. "I worked hard to be here, okay? I auditioned to like a hundred movies a month and I networked like crazy and sometimes I didn't get more than two hours of sleep and–and I didn't do all of this to get here and then have you acting like I don't have any talent at all… Like I'm never gonna be good enough."

She was rambling, and Thomas had noticed that was something she did when she was nervous. She played with her engagement ring while waiting for him to say something. That little detail served to remind him that she was _engaged_ ; that so many things had _changed,_ and maybe it was time he did too.

He crossed his arms. "I never said that."

She _was_ good enough. Too good, even.

"You did worse, you acted like it." Isabelle's shoulders dropped. "Look, I don't wanna fight anymore. I'm tired of that. But I need you to see that I'm _not_ your student anymore, I'm an actress and a really good one. You can't boss me around like you used to."

She was right and Thomas knew that. Over the years, Isabelle had shaped herself into an actress worthy of his respect. With her demanding it like that, he couldn't deny it.

"You do know that I don't do all of that out of bitterness or just for the sake of being a jerk, right?" Isabelle narrowed her eyes, challenging his words. "I do that because when I see potential, I don't want it to be wasted. And trust me, you need me. You may be a good actress, but you're not an excellent one yet and if you don't listen to the people around you who know what they're talking about, you'll never be."

There it was, his teacher side. His side that cared about his students even when they were being extremely stupid. His side that couldn't seem to give up on someone with talent. Especially not someone as talented as Isabelle.

"I know." Isabelle looked defeated in a way. "But sometimes it feels like you don't respect me and that sucks because even after everything, I respect you."

 _After everything…_

Of course he respected her. Why would she think that he didn't?

"Isabelle…" His voice was too soft and he knew that. "Of course I respect you."

She blinked in surprise. "You do?"

That look in her eyes, he knew it too well. _Hope_. What a dangerous little thing.

Hunt cleared his throat. "So what exactly are you asking for, Isabelle? Do you want me to just let you run around set directing yourself?"

"No, of course not. You're a good director and I do want your input on things. What I don't want is for you to act as if you're so much better than me." She raised her chin with purpose. "I want us to work together. I want you to listen to me, to help me get better by giving me constructive criticism and not just rolling your eyes at me."

He was sure he didn't roll his eyes at her nearly as much as she had made it sound like, but the rest of her words were right. Working together was the best thing for both of them, and Thomas could admit when he was wrong. _Twice_ in the same day, in fact.

Thomas opened a half-smile. "I think that's… Something I can do."

"So no more long hating gazes and sub tweeting?" Isabelle chuckled.

In that moment, it felt as if no time had passed. The way Isabelle was talking felt exactly like the way she talked to him when he was her teacher. It reminded him of a time when things were _easier_ , even if she was an extremely annoying student.

"Sub tweeting?" He frowned.

"Yeah, don't check my Twitter. There's some… Passive aggressive stuff. Anyways, moving on from that… We're cool, right?"

"Yes, Isabelle, we're... Cool." Thomas rewarded her with a smile. He imagined that standing up to him hadn't been easy for her. "But I am still your director and I _will_ yell at you if you mess things up. Do _not_ mistake me respecting you with me just letting you run around doing whatever the hell you want. This is still my movie."

" _Our_ movie." A playful smirk formed on her lips. "Don't be selfish, Tommy Boy."

 _Tommy Boy._ He hated that nickname with a burning passion, but there was something funny about the way Isabelle always said it to try to get in his nerves. It was almost… familiar.

"Get out." He frowned, and then smiled.

She laughed. "Yup."

Isabelle closed the door behind her. Thomas was still processing their talk in his head. Could they be friends, after all? He knew he had no feelings for her in that moment, but getting too close could be dangerous. _After all,_ _Isabelle never came with warning signs._

* * *

 **My replies to your reviews** :

 **Amanda:** Hm... You might be on to something there. As for what Hunt was going to say, that's something for later. Now, I'm glad you asked about fancasts because of course I do have some. **Isabelle:** the beautiful Lindsey Morgan, **Thomas:** Ian Harding (yes I know this is basically a cliche by now but he fits SO WELL), **Addison:** Dove Cameron, **Ethan:** Alfie Enoch, **Chris Winters:** Chris Pine (like a few years ago).

 **kylielol:** Hunt just moved a step closer to being nice to Isabelle, so we're getting somewhere. And as for Chris... Wait and see.

 **CatsRtheBOSS:** Isabelle's day was a MESS, right? But don't worry, things are looking up for her (and then getting bad again, but oh well). Thanks for the review!


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